SNA Hall of Fame

Two Belknap Shipmates Inducted into the Surface Navy Hall of Fame

In 2014 Dick Shafer was asked by the Surface Navy Association to submit candidates for induction into the Hall of Fame for actions resulting from the collision of the USS Belknap (CG-26) with the USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) in November of 1975. There were many heroes that night and out of them Shafer submitted several names with citations for their conduct above and beyond the call of duty. The Surface Navy Association selected two of these shipmates for induction into the Hall of Fame at a ceremony in January of 2015. They are BT Andrew Gallagher and LCDR John McKay. The Hall of Fame makes the following statement: “The individuals that comprise the Surface Navy Association’s Hall of Fame are not the complete list of those worthy of such recognition. They are representatives of all of our heroes, past and present, who have served their Navy and their Nation on the Surface Ships of the Fleet” The following are links to the SNA Citations which single out two of the many acts of bravery which occurred on that tragic night in the Ionian Sea.

Click for A personal message from Dick Shafer
Click on the pictures below to see the citations.

BT2 Andrew Gallagher

 

Dick Shafer and Andrew Gallagher at the ceremony

 

Dick Shafer and the recipients at the ceremony

LCDR John McKay

 

Dick Shafer and John McKay at the ceremony